Wrap-around carriers commonly utilized in the beverage industry to package bottles of beer and soft drinks are typically positioned on moving upright bottles in a packaging machine so that neck holes in the blanks fit over the necks of the bottles, after which the blanks are folded into place around the moving bottles. The ends of the blanks are usually fastened to each other at the bottom of the carrier by locking tabs and apertures, and a handle arrangement, such as finger openings or an integrally formed strap, is located on the top panel of the carrier to enable a user to lift and carry the package with one hand.
Because carriers of this type are best adapted for packages containing relatively few bottles, such as six or eight, an improved carrier designed to carry a greater number of heavy bottles, such as twelve bottles of 16-fluid ounce size, was developed. Such a carrier, which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,375, issued on June 6, 1989, not only does away with the usual open-case carrier formed of heavier paperboard, but provides a fully enclosed package with all its advantages. The package provides for a double thickness of paperboard at the edges of the top panel to enable a user to grasp the carrier at the reinforced edges in order to lift it. Although this is a convenient way of lifting and handling the package, it was found that there is still a surprisingly strong consumer demand for a carrier of this type which can be lifted with one hand in order to free the other hand for other tasks.
To provide the carrier with a handle capable of withstanding the severe stresses involved in lifting a very heavy package would appear to require the use of considerably heavier paperboard or paperboard which has been significantly reinforced. Since this is to be avoided for economic reasons it would seem that a carrier of this type could not practically be provided with a handle enabling the package to be lifted with one hand. It is, nevertheless, an object of the invention to provide such a carrier with a handle which can be used to safely lift the heavy package without damaging it and without danger of the bottles falling out. Moreover, it is a further object to provide a carrier and handle arrangement of this type which is economical to manufacture.